When your children are in the hands of ‘trusted’ adults, you want to believe that they’re being taken care of. Unfortunately, time and time again, parents are shown that some adults are untrustworthy. One California mom found out that a Karen lunch lady at her children’s school has been denying them cafeteria food. There are already numerous concerns about many families being unable to afford lunches for their children, and schools denying them meals. We want to think better of schools, but, sadly, sometimes they disappoint us just as they have this mother.
Chelley Bo (@chelleybogotemchoked on TikTok) shared a personal video captioned, “The lunch lady at my kid’s school has been denying them food since last school year.” The problem initially started when Chelley’s son was in Kindergarten the previous year and the lunch lady claimed he “didn’t finish his food.” Chelley stated that this isn’t a good reason for her because it’s none of the lunch lady’s business what her son does or doesn’t eat; the point is that children deserve to be offered food choices.
Chelley goes on to say that she’s spoken to the principal, the assistant principal, and many other figures in authority at her children’s school. She said she attended meetings and made several phone calls, but most of her phone calls weren’t returned. She also mentioned that parents aren’t allowed on the school’s property, which they’ve exploited to their advantage, making it particularly difficult for her to contact them about the issue.
The problem extends to Chelley’s other child, too. She claimed that the same lunch lady forced her way into her young daughter’s conversations with her friends. The lunch lady allegedly told Chelley’s daughter that the things she likes are “for boys.” Chelley, however, told her daughter that if you like something, it doesn’t matter what gender you are. She also commented to her before, “You have such a smart mouth, I bet your mom enjoys that.”
Chelley finally had enough and spoke to the lunch lady one-on-one about these problems. She told her that she had to feed her son regardless of whether he finished his food. She said that the lunch lady rudely stood there like a Karen and didn’t say a word back to her. The principal told her, “Hey, you can’t speak to our staff members and I don’t want to have to ban you from the property for doing that.”
Chelley was flabbergasted and wondered what she could do to help her children. A lunch lady stood in solidarity with Chelley in the comments, recommending that she follow some steps to take action. She suggested, “As a kitchen manager at a school, please find the number to the child nutrition center through your state and report the school. If you need help finding a number let me know. I’ll see what I can do.” Another lunch lady added, “We have a very important job in feeding students. Students don’t learn if they’re hungry. This really upsets me because our job is not judge at all. It is to feed.”
Here’s to hoping the rest of this school year offers Chelley’s children full bellies and happiness like they deserve. It takes a village, and that village should never make it difficult for children to access the essentials, especially food.
